Gas-engine.



Patented July I6, |901. C. C.' BRMWELL.

GAS ENGINE.

(Application med Feb. 25, 1898.', (No Model.)

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GASMENGBNE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters latent No. 678,823, dated July 16, 1901. Application tiled lf'ebruary 25, 1898- Serial No. 671,556. (No model.)

To'aZZ whom t may concern:

Beit known that I, CLARENCE C. BRAM- WELL, of Hyde Park, county of Norfolk, State of Massachusetts; have invented an Improvement in Gas-Engines, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawing, isa specification, like characters on the drawing representing like parts.

This invention relates to that -type of engine wherein the motive power is provided by the successive explosions in a suitable chamber or cylinder of an explosive mixture of air and gas 'acting to propel a piston and through intervening mechanism change reciprocating to rotary motion. Heretofore such engines have been ill adapted to operate with varying loads on account of the difficulty experienced in devising suitable governing means, and so far as I am aware such variation in power has been effected by varying the numberof explosions. For instance, when the power unduly increases the explosive mixture is cut off and the engine runs by its own momentum until the power decreases sufciently to effect the introduction into the cylinder and explosion of the mixture, resulting in jerking or pounding of the engine and sudden instead of gradual changes of power. Obviously this is objectionable, and in consequence the field of usefulness of explosive-engines has been a rather restricted one, confined to cases where steady running is not material or essential.

My present invention has for its object the production of a novel explosive-engine the power of which can be easily and gradually changed 4to conform to variations in the load without the objectionable features hereinbefore noted. I am thus enabled to use my engine under conditions where the ordinary gasengine has proved to be wanting-such, for instance, as the motive power for horseless vehicles or for driving dynamos or other machinery requiring a steady-running engine which shall be as nearly free from vibration as possible.

The drawing in vertical section represents a sufficient portion of an explosive-engine embodying my invention to be understood.

Referring to the drawing, the cylinder A, of suitable length, has at its inner end an anbe noticed, however, that the inner end ot' the piston has attached to or forming a part of it a cylindrical extension OX, having a closed inner end 0X, said extension substantially iilling the cylinder extension B when the piston is at the inner end of its stroke.

he piston extension CX does not contact with the walls of the chamber B, however, a narrow annular clearance-space being left between them.

As the explosive mixture is ignited at the termination of the compression-stroke of the piston or when the parts are in the position shown in the drawing, the flame does not enter the cylinder C at all, and hence the latter is not heated thereby.

In order to prevent the conduction of heat to the cylinder from the chamber B, l have herein interposed the packing 3, of non-heatconducting material, and the cylinder has formed upon its exterior a series of thin broad metallic flanges a, which serve to reduce the heat of the cylinder by radiation.

After several explosions dead gas will fill the annular clearance-space between the piston extension OX and the wall of the explosionchamber, and this dead gas will travel with the piston, acting to still further prevent the transfer of heat to the cylinder. An exhaustport bx for the chamber B is provided with a controlling-valve b2, operated in any suitable manner, to permit the escape of the exploded gas at every other inward stroke of the piston. The chamber B is also shown as provided with thin external metal rings or flanges b' to act by radiation in reducing the temperature of the chamber. An inlet-passage B1' opens into the explosion-chamber at its closed end, said passage having an inlet-portb3,cont1olled by a valve h4, held seated, as herein shown, by a spring s, the inlet-port communicating IOO By means of valves in the branches b6 la7 the proportions of air and gas admitted through the main port h3 into the explosion I or combustion chamber may be varied, such variable mixture forming the major portion of the explosive, and according to the more. or less explosive character of the mixture the greater or less will be the force imparted to As is well known, the mixture may be so diluted by the large proportion of l air to gas as to be exploded with difficulty or only by an extensive igniting-iiame, and this l is eected in my present invention by the igl nition of the highly-explosive mixture in the ignition-chamber D. The uniform mixture admitted thereto by the auxiliary port d is 1 readily ignited by a small spark, and the com- 1 parativelylarge flame thus producedinstantly traverses, as it were, the less explosive mixthe piston.

ture in the explosion-chamber B and passage B and ignites it. the variation in the power of the engine will be eected by varying the explosive character and force of the main body of mixed air and gas, so that the piston is actuated by an explosion at every alternate outward stroke,

or, in other words, once for every complete cycle, and not, as has been the case'heretofore, by completely cutting off the supply of the explosive mixture from the cylinder for a number of strokes until the speed decreases and, then admitting the mixture again.

It will be noted that the neck 30, connecting the ignition-chamber D and passage B', is contracted or reduced in diameter to prevent the rich and the variable mixtures of air and gas from intermingling to any great extent.

In the type of engine herein shownthe explosive mixture is drawn into the combustion- ;chamber on the suction-stroke of the piston, and such mixture, with any inert gas remaining after the previous explosion, will be compressed on the compression-stroke, and the vtendency will be to force some of this mixture into the ignition-chamber. This result, however, is prevented by the elongated neck or passage of small cross-sectional area between 'the ignition and combustion chambers, be-

cause the iiuid contents of such passage acts as a movable plug to prevent the Ydilution of 4 the contents of the ignition-chamber by the weaker lmixture in the combustion-chamber,

`so that the ignition-chamber always has a rich and readily-ignitible mixture therein 'at the jtime of ignition whatever be the character It will now be evident that 1 of the mixture in the combustion-chamber and adjacent portion of the passage. It will be obvious that the iiuid plug in the reduced passage would not indefinitely prevent such undesirable ad mixture, but the formation and dissipation of the plug only occurs when the engine is in operation, and the higher the speed of the engine the more nearly does the fluid contents of the passage resemble and operate as a plug. The capacity of the reduced passage between the ignition and combustion chambers is consequently and of necessity made greater than the capacity of the ignition-chamber.

The gas-inlet pipe 197 has a valve 570 therein controlled by a suitable governor G50,as shown, so that when the engine slows down the valve will be opened, and vice versa.

In ahorseless carriage the controlling-valve would probably he operated by the operator.

My invention is not restricted to the precise construction and arrangement shown, as the same may be modified without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention.

While I have herein shown a peculiar form of cylinder and a prolongation of the same to form a combination-chamber and a piston extension to enter the chamber, such coni struction is not herein claimed, as it forms the subjectmatter of another application, Serial No. 730,456, iiled by me September 14, 1899, as a division of the present application;

Having described my invention, what I claim as new, and desireto secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a gas-engine, a cylinder having acommunicatng combustion-chamber, independent inlets for the admission respectively of a uniform mixture, anda variable mixture, of air, and gas to said chamber, means to ignite the uniform mixture, and means to produceV 'an exhaust-valve and an inlet-valve, an ignition-chamber in continuous communication with the cylinder by an elongated passage of small cross-section, an auxiliary inlet-valve for said chamber, -andmeans to fire the gas 4in said ignition-chamber.

4. A gas-engine cylinder, an ignition-chamber continuously communicating therewith by means of an elongated passage of small cross-section, and an inlet-valve and an'iguiting device contained in the ignition-chamber, the capacity of said passage being greater than the capacity of the ignition-chamber to IOO IIO

prevent mixing of the contents of Said ohamnition-ohamber, and gas-igniting means in Io bei1 with the contents of the cylinder on the said ignition-chamber. compression-stroke. In testimony whereof I have signed my 5. In a gas-engine, the cylinder, a combusname to this specification in the presence of 5 tion or explosion chamber communicating two subscribing Witnesses.

therewith, an ignition-chamber in continuous CLARENCE C. BRAMWELL. communication with the eombustioneham Witnesses: bei', t main inlet-Valve for the combustion- JOHN COUPER EDWARDS,

chamber, an auxiliary inlet-Valve for the ig- ALEXANDER C. PROUDFIT. 

